Pick-up head with debris urging means for a mobile sweeper

ABSTRACT

A debris-plowing pick-up head for a mobile sweeper comprises a housing defining a substantially hollow interior and having a front, a back, a left end and a right end, a top and a bottom, and a suctioning bottom opening for suctioning dust and small debris into the substantially hollow interior of the housing. A suctioning front opening is disposed in the front of the housing for receiving debris into the substantially hollow interior of the housing. A selectively openable and closable door means operatively mounted on the pick-up head for selectively opening and closing the suctioning front opening. There is a dust and debris outlet in the housing for permitting dust and debris to be suctioned from the substantially hollow interior of the housing into a hopper. There is also means disposed on the front of the housing for urging large debris toward the suctioning front opening, and a selectively operable actuation means for opening the door means for permitting the passage of debris therethrough.

This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/975,088 filed on Sep.25, 2007, which is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to factory and sidewalk sweepers, and moreparticularly to pick-up heads for factory and sidewalk sweepers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sidewalk sweepers and factory floor sweepers of various types are usedto sweep debris in many different types of locations. Sidewalk sweepersare typically used to sweep sidewalks, parking lots, and so on, and mustsweep along curbs and the sides of buildings in order to sweep dust anddebris that is adjacent to the curbs and buildings. Factory floorsweepers are typically used to sweep aisle ways in factories andwarehouses, and the like.

In each case, dust, dirt and small debris typically pass under the frontof the pick-up head and are suctioned into the interior of the pick-uphead through its bottom opening. However, the bottom edge of the pick-uphead at the front of the housing is only a very small distance above thesurface being cleaned, perhaps one-eighth of an inch. Accordingly, onlydust and very small debris can pass under it during use. Larger debrisis plowed by the front of the pick-up head.

In most prior art sidewalk sweepers and factory floor sweepers, thelarge debris must get separately suctioned up typically by a manuallymanipulated vacuum wand connected to the same source of vacuum on thesidewalk sweeper or factory floor sweeper that suctions air through thepick-up head. This is undesirable for a number of reasons. Primarily, itis difficult for an operator to perform this function. Also, it issomewhat time consuming, which is undesirable. Further, the vacuum wandadds to the cost of the sidewalk sweeper or factory floor sweeper.Finally, it is also possible that debris plows over the housing or“falls off” the end of the housing and is missed, which is highlyundesirable.

In other prior art sidewalk sweepers and factory floor sweeper, there isa front opening through which the debris can pass; however, it is oftenthe case that debris does not reach the front opening, but insteadaccumulates along the front of the pick-up head, or perhaps plows overthe housing of the pick-up head or “falls off” the ends of the housing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pick-up head foruse with a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floor sweeper.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up headfor use with a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floor sweeper, whichpick-up head has a debris receiving opening for accepting debristhereinto.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up headfor use with a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floor sweeper, whichpick-up head has a debris receiving opening for accepting large debristhereinto.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up headfor use with a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floor sweeper, whereindust, dirt and debris are directed to a debris receiving opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there isdisclosed a novel debris-plowing pick-up head for a mobile sweeper. Thepick-up head comprises a housing defining a substantially hollowinterior and having a front, a back, a left end and a right end, a topand a bottom, and a suctioning bottom opening for suctioning dust andsmall debris into the substantially hollow interior of the housing. Asuctioning front opening is disposed in the front of the housing forreceiving debris into the substantially hollow interior of the housing,in debris receiving relation with respect to a surface being cleaned. Aselectively openable and closable door means operatively mounted on thepick-up head for selectively opening and closing the suctioning frontopening. There is a dust and debris outlet in the housing for permittingdust and debris to be suctioned from the substantially hollow interiorof the housing into a hopper. There is also means disposed on the frontof the housing for urging large debris toward the suctioning frontopening, and a selectively operable actuation means for opening the doormeans for permitting the passage of debris therethrough.

Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention,as well as methods of operation and functions of the related elements ofthe structure, and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description and the appended claims with reference tothe accompanying drawings, the latter of which is briefly describedherein below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of thepick-up head for a mobile sweeper according to the present invention, asto its structure, organization, use and method of operation, togetherwith further objectives and advantages thereof, will be betterunderstood from the following drawings in which the presently preferredembodiments of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example.It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for thepurpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as adefinition of the limits of the invention. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of thepick-up head according to the present invention, in use on a mobilesweeper vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the first preferred embodiment pick-up headof FIG. 1, with a portion cut away for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the first preferred embodimentpick-up head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of thepick-up head according to the present invention, in use on a mobilesweeper vehicle;

FIG. 5 is a partially cut-away side elevational view of the thirdpreferred embodiment pick-up head according to the present invention, inuse on a mobile sweeper vehicle; and,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the third preferredembodiment pick-up head of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6 of the drawings, it will be noted thatFIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate a first preferred embodiment of the pick-uphead of the present invention, FIG. 4 illustrates a second preferredembodiment of the pick-up head of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 and6 illustrate a third preferred embodiment of the pick-up head of thepresent invention.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 1 through 3, which show a firstpreferred embodiment of the debris plowing pick-up head for a mobilesweeper 22 according to the present invention, as indicated by generalreference numeral 20. The pick-up head 20 for a mobile sweeper 22comprises a housing 30 defining a substantially hollow interior 31 andhaving a front 32, a back 33, a left end 34 and a right end 35, a top 36and a bottom 37. There is a suctioning bottom opening 38 for suctioningdust and small debris, such as dirt and small stones, and the like, intothe substantially hollow interior 31 of the housing 30. There is a dustand debris outlet 39 in the housing 30 for permitting dust and debris tobe suctioned from the substantially hollow interior 31 of the housing 30into a hopper 23 that is mounted at the back of the mobile sweeper 22,via a duct 26. The dust and debris outlet 39 is preferably disposed inthe back 33 of the housing 30, so as to take advantage of the relativetravel of debris with respect to the pick-up head 20 as the mobilesweeper 22 travels forwardly.

As can readily be seen in the figures, the housing 30 is tapered from ahigher central portion 31 to a lower outer left portion 31| and a lowerouter right portion 31 r. Tapering the housing 30 in this manner permitssufficient air flow at the left and right ends 34,35 respectively, ofthe housing 30 to be sufficient enough to suction dust and debris fromthe left and right ends 34,35 of the housing 30.

The pick-up head 20 further comprises a suctioning front opening 60disposed in the front of the housing 30 for receiving debris into thesubstantially hollow interior 31 of the housing 30, and in debrisreceiving relation with respect to a surface being cleaned. Preferably,the suctioning front opening 60 is disposed generally centrally in thefront of the housing 30. It will also be noted that the dust and debrisoutlet 39 is generally centrally disposed in the back of the housing 30,so as to be generally laterally aligned with the suctioning frontopening 60. The suctioning front opening 60 needs to be large enough toaccept large debris, such as most sizes of cans and bottlestherethrough.

A selectively openable and closable door means 70 is operatively mountedon the pick-up head 20, at the suctioning front opening 60, forselectively opening and closing the suctioning front opening 60. Theopenable and closeable door means 70 comprises at least one door membermounted in hinged relation on the housing 30. In the first preferredembodiment, as illustrated, the openable and closeable door means 70comprises a single door 70 mounted by means of a horizontally orientedtop hinge 72. Preferably, the at least one door member 70 is mounted soas to open inwardly into the substantially hollow interior 31 of thehousing 30. In this manner, the door member 70 opens in the samedirection as the relative travel of debris with respect to the pick-uphead 20 as the mobile sweeper 22 travels forwardly.

The pick-up head 20 further comprises means for urging large debristowards the suctioning front opening 60, as indicated by the generalreference numeral 40. As can be readily seen in the figures, the means40 for urging large debris towards the suctioning front opening isdisposed in the front of the housing. Preferably, the means 40 forurging debris towards the suctioning front opening comprises a firstdebris transfer belt member 41 operatively mounted on the housing 30 tothe right of the suctioning front opening 60 by means of a first pair ofrollers 43. The means 40 for urging debris towards the suctioning frontopening further comprises a first motor means 45 for selectively movingthe debris transfer belt 41, and thereby moving debris towards thesuctioning front opening 60.

The first debris transfer belt member 41 is preferably made from aflexible rubber material, and may be reinforced by flexible plasticstrands, or the like, for the purpose of adding strength to the firstdebris transfer belt member 41. The first debris transfer belt member 41comprises exterior ridges 47 for catching on the large debris that itencounters, with the exterior ridges 47 preferably being substantiallyvertically disposed, so as to be transversely oriented to the directionof travel of the first debris transfer belt member 41 at the front ofthe housing 30.

Preferably, the selectively operable motor means 45 comprises ahydraulic motor mounted on the housing 30. Alternatively, any othersuitable type of motor means could be used.

The means for urging debris towards the suctioning front openingcomprises a second debris transfer belt member 42 operatively mounted onthe housing 30 to the left of the suctioning front opening 60 by meansof a second pair of rollers 44. The means for urging debris towards thesuctioning front opening further comprises a second motor means 46 forselectively moving the debris transfer belt 42, and thereby movingdebris towards the suctioning front opening 60.

The second debris transfer belt member 43 is similar to the first debristransfer belt member 41, and the second motor means 46 is similar to thefirst motor means 45. There is also a second pair of rollers 44 that issimilar to the first pair of rollers 43, and exterior ridges 48 on thesecond debris transfer belt member 43 that are similar to the exteriorridges 47 on the first debris transfer belt member 41.

In the first preferred embodiment, as illustrated, the means for urgingdebris towards the suctioning front opening 60 comprises a “V”-shapedfront wall portion 32 w of the housing 30. The suctioning front opening60 further is disposed at the vertex of the “V”-shaped front wallportion 32 w, so as to receive large debris that is pushed along theleft and right front walls of the housing 30, as the mobile sweeper 22travels forwardly.

In use, as the mobile sweeper 22 travels forwardly, dust and debris onthe surface being cleaned are encountered by the pick-up head 20. Anydebris except very small debris that is encountered by the first andsecond left and right debris belt members of housing 30, and is moved tothe suctioning front opening 60, by the motion of the first and seconddebris belt members, as indicated by arrows “A” in the Figures.

As can readily be seen, with the pick-up head 20 according to thepresent invention, dust and very small debris that pass under thepick-up head 20 enter the substantially hollow interior 31 of thepick-up head 20 through the suctioning bottom opening 38. In essence,the pickup head 20 according to the present invention separates the dustand very small debris from the larger debris, and causes them to taketheir separate routes in order to ultimately be suctioned up. Thisparticular structure and function allows the pick-up head 20 to maintainproper and sufficient suctioning across the width of the housing 30.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 4, which shows a second preferredembodiment of the pick-up head according to the present invention, asindicated by reference numeral 220. The second preferred embodimentpick-up head 220 is similar to the first preferred embodiment pick-uphead 20, except that the means for urging debris towards the suctioningfront opening comprises a debris transfer vibrating pusher 240operatively mounted on the housing 230. The means for urging debristowards the suctioning front opening further comprises means 241 forselectively vibrating the debris transfer vibrating pusher, therebymoving debris towards the suctioning front opening 260. Preferably, eachdebris transfer vibrating pusher 240 has a plurality of sloped teeth 242extending forwardly therefrom, and oriented towards the suctioning frontopening 260. The plurality of sloped teeth 242 tend to engage debris asthe debris transfer vibrating pusher 240 is moving (oscillating) towardsthe suctioning front opening 260 and tend to pass by debris as it ismoving (oscillating) away from the suctioning front opening 260, thusurging debris towards the suctioning front opening 260.

It should also be noted that the pick-up head for a mobile sweeperaccording to the present invention can be used as part of a vacuum typesystem on a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floor sweeper, or as part of are-circulating type system on a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floorsweeper, as will now be discussed.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 5 and 6, which show a thirdpreferred embodiment of the debris-plowing pick-up head according to thepresent invention, as indicated by reference numeral 320. The thirdpreferred embodiment debris-plowing pick-up head 320 is similar to thefirst preferred embodiment debris-plowing pick-up head 20, except thatit is used in a re-circulating type system on a sidewalk sweeper or afactory floor sweeper. As can be readily seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the topcovering 380 of the hopper 323 has a built in panel filter 382 at theback, and unfiltered direct opening 384 to the ambient surroundingsadjacent the panel filter 382. A recirculating air hose 386 has itsinlet 387 at the top covering 380 of the hopper 323 and its outlet 388in the pickup head to form a “closed loop” system with the fan 324. Thefan 324 blows unfiltered air into the inlet 387 of the recirculating airhose 386, as indicated by arrow “A”. This air is introduced into thepick-up head 320, as indicated by arrow “B”, in order to help capturedust and debris within the pick-up head 320. The recirculating air,including the dust and debris, circulate through the duct 326, asindicated by arrow “C”, and returned to the hopper 323, as indicated byarrow “D”, as drawn in by the fan 324.

A portion of the air from the fan 324 is bled off to the atmosphere, ascontrolled by flap valve 390, either through the panel filter 382, as isshown in FIG. 5, or through the direct opening 384, as is shown in FIG.6. A large gate valve 392 is mounted in hinged relation at the junctionbetween the panel filter 382 and a direct opening 384 for movementbetween a first position, as shown in FIG. 5, whereat all of the airflow that is bled off is directed through the panel filter 382. Thelarge gate valve 392 seals against the slanted wall 394 in order topreclude air from escaping through the direct opening 384. This mode isused during dry sweeping in order to preclude dust from escaping to theatmosphere. Circulation of only a substantial portion of the airflowsignificantly reduces the volume of air that must be filtered per unittime, which is a significant problem with vacuum type sweepers.

In the event that sweeping must be performed in wet or damp conditions,there is no actual dust generated that needs to be controlled andcaptured; however, there is a wet airborne particulate that must bedealt with. It is well known that this wet airborne particulate canreadily clog a panel filter 382. Accordingly, the large gate valve 392can be moved to the position as shown in FIG. 6, whereat the panelfilter 382 is covered, and there is a direct path for the flow of airthat is bled off to the direct opening 384 to the ambient surroundings,thus precluding the panel filter 382 from becoming clogged.

As can be understood from the above description and from theaccompanying drawings, the present invention provides a pick-up head foruse with a sidewalk sweeper or a factory floor sweeper, which pick-uphead has a debris receiving opening for accepting large debristhereinto, and wherein dust, dirt and debris are directed to the debrisreceiving opening, all of which features are unknown in the prior art.

Other variations of the above principles will be apparent to those whoare knowledgeable in the field of the invention, and such variations areconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention. Further,other modifications and alterations may be used in the design andmanufacture of the pick-up head for a mobile sweeper of the presentinvention without departing from the spirit and scope of theaccompanying claims.

1 . A pick-up head for a mobile sweeper, said pick-head comprising: ahousing defining a substantially hollow interior and having a front, aback, a left end and a right end, a top and a bottom, and a suctioningbottom opening for suctioning dust and small debris into saidsubstantially hollow interior of said housing; a suctioning frontopening disposed in the front of said housing for receiving debris intosaid substantially hollow interior of said housing, in debris receivingrelation with respect to a surface being cleaned; a dust and debrisoutlet in said housing for permitting dust and debris to be suctionedfrom said substantially hollow interior of said housing into a hopper;and, means for urging large debris toward said suctioning front opening.2. The pick-up head of claim 1, wherein said means for urging largedebris toward said suctioning front opening is disposed on the front ofsaid housing.
 3. The pick-up head of claim 2, wherein said means forurging debris towards said suctioning front opening comprises a firstdebris transfer belt member operatively mounted on said housing by meansof pair of rollers, and further comprising selectively operable motormeans for selectively moving said first debris transfer belt member,thereby moving debris towards said suctioning front opening.
 4. Thepick-up head of claim 1, wherein said first debris transfer belt membercomprises exterior ridges for catching on debris.
 5. The pick-up head ofclaim 4, wherein said ridges are substantially vertically disposed. 6.The pick-up head of claim 5, wherein said means for urging large debristowards said suctioning front opening further comprises a front wallcomprising left and right sloped portions that are each slopedrearwardly and inwardly, and wherein said debris inlet is disposed atsaid front portion between said left and right sloped portions, indebris receiving relation with respect to a surface being cleaned. 7.The pick-up head of claim 6, wherein said left and right sloped portionscomprise a “V”-shaped front wall portion of said housing, wherein saidsuctioning front opening is disposed at the vertex of said “V”-shapedfront wall portion.
 8. The pick-up head of claim 1, wherein saidsuctioning front opening is disposed generally centrally in the front ofsaid housing.
 9. The pick-up head of claim 1, further comprising aselectively openable and closable door means operatively mounted on saidpick-up head for selectively opening and closing said suctioning frontopening.
 10. The pick-up head of claim 9, wherein said openable andcloseable door means comprises at least one door member mounted inhinged relation on said housing.
 11. The pick-up head of claim 10,wherein said at least one door member is mounted so as to open inwardlyinto the substantially hollow interior of said housing.
 12. The pick-uphead of claim 9, further comprising selectively operable actuation meansfor opening said door means for permitting the passage of debristherethrough.
 13. The pick-up head of claim 1, wherein said dust anddebris outlet is disposed in the back of said housing.
 14. The pick-uphead of claim 1, wherein said dust and debris outlet is generallycentrally disposed in said back of said housing.
 15. The pick-up head ofclaim 1, wherein said means for urging debris towards said suctioningfront opening comprises a second debris transfer belt member operativelymounted on said housing by means of pair of rollers, and furthercomprising motor means for selectively moving said second debristransfer belt member, thereby move debris towards said suctioning frontopening.
 16. The pick-up head of claim 1, wherein said second debristransfer belt member comprises exterior ridges for catching on debris.17. The pick-up head of claim 16, wherein said ridges are substantiallyvertically disposed.
 18. The pick-up head of claim 1, wherein said meansfor urging debris towards said suctioning front opening comprises adebris transfer vibrating pusher operatively mounted on said housing,and further comprising means for selectively vibrating said debristransfer vibrating pusher, thereby moving debris towards said suctioningfront opening.
 19. The pick-up head of claim 18, wherein said vibratingpusher has a plurality of sloped teeth.